Why not eat horse meat?

The scandal sweeping the United Kingdom, in which horse meat was discovered in what was supposed to be beef products, has got me questioning the rationale behind certain dietary preferences.

Many of the people who are perfectly fine with eating a cow are horrified at the thought of having a horse for dinner.

Both are attractive animals that most people would have a difficult time dispatching, if they had to do the slaughtering themselves.

I can understand the concerns regarding the mislabeling of food products. We all want to make sure we know what we are putting in our bodies, although this does not always seem to make a difference (ever read the mystery ingredients on much of our food?)

Putting those concerns aside, the logic of the distinction doesn’t make sense to me. Is it because one animal is more intelligent than the other? Is that even true? This seems irrelevant to me.

Is a horse’s beauty enough to save it from the chopping block? I remember waking up in a pasture I used to read in during college and finding a group of cows staring at me from only a few feet away. Those big eyed bovines were beautiful too.

There are many countries where horse meat is eaten, including France, China, Kazakhstan and Russia. Some consider the leaner meat a delicacy.

It’s also notable that much of the “beef” in the UK cases was also comprised of pig, but that did not prompt the same outrage. Again, it appears to be a double standard.

Now, I’ve got to admit my own bias here. I might have a hard time eating our canine companions. I probably wouldn’t be able to look my own dog in the eye again. If I was living with a horse, or a cow for that matter, they might no longer be a menu option either.

I wish someone would start sneaking vegetables in my meat. Broccoli won’t be leaping fences any time soon.

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I've been lucky to have grown up around horses and cows, and have had one each of my own. Like dogs and cats, cows and horses both have their levels of smarts and looks that keep us from considering them dinner, however, cows stand out from the three. They are given antibiotics and medications that are safe for human consumption and are generally easily traced to where they were raised, what they were fed, who owned them, whereas horses are often dropped off by owners or stolen. They aren't always ranched like cattle. Most medications given to horses stay in their systems and can cause trouble when consumed by people. Being that stolen, useless (per owner statements), or old horses are sent to the auction houses and often to the grinder you're stuck with tainted and possibly harmful meat products that really aren't meant to be consumed.

For me, and due to past experience of having my pet cow stolen (also given medication and antibiotics not meant for human consumption) and having seen old horses sold at auction....It's more a concern of where our food came from (was it a stolen pet?) and what's in it.

As far as what's in it, I apparently have an intolerance to cattle fed grains, antibiotics, and hormones. The meat makes me physically ill, so I am left with buying from our farmer's market vendors selling grassfed, non-antibiotic, no-hormone infused bison or beef. At least then, I know where my food comes from, how it's raised, it doesn't make me sick, and ..it tastes fantastic.